Quality Initiatives Map

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Organisations responsible for quality

Key Initiatives and tools

It should be noted that the tools and initiatives contained in this map are not exhaustive due to the evolving quality landscape and the volume of available resources. They have been selected because providers need to know about them or TLAP partners have found them helpful to support personalisation . All tools and initiatives contained in this map are FREE to use.

Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS)

Advisory body

ADASS is a charity and the representative body for Directors of Adult Social Care in Councils in England. It promotes research, best practice and locally embeds government policy. It also advises government on key issues affecting quality of social care.

British Association of Occupational Therapists

Advisory body

This independent body has a role in developing professional standards and representing Occupational Therapists. It sets frameworks and quality standards and accredits training. All practising Occupational Therapists must be registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC).

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Regulator of quality

CQC is an independent body accountable to the Secretary of State for Health and Government. It is responsible for the regulation of all care services in England, including hospitals, care homes, GP surgeries and dental surgeries.

There are three divisions in CQC - Social Care, GP and dental surgeries and hospitals. However, NHS Trust hospitals are also regulated by Monitor as well as CQC, so the two organisations work closely together for hospital inspection.

New Fundamental Standards of Quality and Safety come into force in social care in April 2015 and providers must meet these. CQC also inspect some services for young people moving into adulthood that remain in education (such as those provided in educational campuses or residential colleges).

College of Social Work

Advisory body

This independent body has a role in representing social workers and developing professional social work standards. The College of Social Work sets frameworks and quality standards. All practising social workers must be registered with the Health and Care Professionals Councils (HCPC), the regulator for social workers and allied health professionals.

Department of Health (DH)

Strategic body

DH is a ministerial department of Government. It is the overall responsible department and strategic funder within health and social care. It ensures all government policy in health and social care is delivered, sets standards and promotes all initiatives on quality. It links with all related strategic bodies to support standard setting and policy support.

General Dental Council

Regulator of workforce

This Body has the authority to discipline and strike off dentists who put people at risk or who fail to meet the body's professional and quality standards. It has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CQC which means relevant information that needs sharing will be disclosed between parties to ensure public safety. Some people in receipt of social care often have additional needs and it is important that dentists recognise and respond to these appropriately within their professional capacity.

General Medical Council (GMC)

Regulator of workforce

This Body has the authority to discipline and strike off doctors who put people at risk or fail to meet the appropriate professional and quality standards. It has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CQC which means relevant information that needs sharing will be disclosed between parties to ensure public safety. Some people in receipt of social care often have additional needs and it is important that dentists recognise and respond to these appropriately within their professional capacity.

General Pharmaceutical Council

Regulator of workforce

This Body has the authority to discipline and strike off pharmacists who put people at risk or who fail to meet the body's professional and quality standards. It has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CQC which means relevant information that needs sharing will be disclosed between parties to ensure public safety. Some people in receipt of social care often have additional needs and it is important that pharmacists recognise and respond to these appropriately within their professional capacity.

Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Regulator of workforce

This body has the authority to discipline and strike off registered professionals such as social workers, physiotherapists, psychologists and paramedics who put people at risk or who fail to meet the body's professional standards. The body has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CQC which means relevant information will be disclosed between parties to promote safety. Some people in receipt of social care often have additional needs that involve engagement with one or all of above and it is important that they recognise and respond to these appropriately within their professional capacity.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

Regulator of quality

HSE is the national, independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and quality standards. It acts in the public interest to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain's workplaces including Health and Social Care. HSE has powers of prosecution for breaches of Health and Safety Law. Accidents and safety issues for people who receive health or social care support are also covered by the HSE and there are a range of reporting mechanisms for this.

Health and Wellbeing Boards

Strategic body

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 established health and wellbeing boards as a forum where key leaders from the health and care system come together to work out how they can work in more integrated ways to improve wellbeing of their communities and reduce health inequalities. Each area has its own Health and Wellbeing Board and must be made up of at least: a local elected council member, the director of public health for the local authority and representatives of the local Healthwatch organisation, local clinical commissioning group, director for adult social services, director for children's services and director of public health. Each area runs its board differently and it is worth checking out how providers are represented locally as they have key strategic influence.

Healthwatch

Advisory body

Healthwatch is the national body that champions people who use health and social care and has a key focus on the design of integrated care. There are duties in law to ensure Councils , Health services and Regulators respond to issues raised by Healthwatch. Each area has a local Healthwatch that feeds into the national body and they all operate very differently.

Local Government Association (LGA)

Strategic body

The LGA is a politically-led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to influence the political agenda. They focus on issues that matter to change people's lives for the better. It is a campaigning and membership organisation made up of all English councils, except two, and Welsh councils. The LGA acts on behalf of collective councils to advise on a range of issues affecting people in communities.

Monitor

Regulator of quality

Monitor is the Regulator for NHS Trusts in England. It ensures essential services are maintained, well led and that Trusts meet standards.

Monitor has the power to directly intervene in NHS services where they are seriously failing - Special Measures. Monitor have a complimentary relationship with CQC and NHS England and have partnership agreements outlining how they work together.

National Institute of Care Excellence (NICE)

Advisory body

NICE has a statutory role to develop quality standards across health and social care. NICE produces national evidence based guidance, quality standards and advice to improve the quality of care and support in both social care and health settings. To support best practice, NICE hosts the Social Care External Network. Providers of social care need to be aware of NICE. The Care Act 2014 forces commissioners of social care to pay due regard to NICE guidance when developing services.

NHS England

Strategic body

NHS England is a strategic body governing all NHS services in England reporting directly to Government and the Secretary of State for Health. It has a partnership agreement with the Department of Health. It sets systems and policies for health and health care structures to deliver effective quality services. This includes Clinical Commissioning groups (CCGs). NHS England works within the NHS Constitution.

NICE Collaborating Centre for Social Care (NCCSC)

Advisory body

The NICE Collaborating Centre for Social Care (NCCSC) develops guidance about social care for children and adults on behalf of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The NCCSC also helps to ensure that people who commission, provide and use care services know about the NICE guidance and related quality standards and are supported to put them into practice. The consortia is led by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE).

Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)

Regulator of workforce

This Body has the authority to discipline and strike off nurses and midwives who put people at risk or fail to meet the appropriate professional and quality standards. It has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CQC which means relevant information that needs sharing will be disclosed between parties to ensure public safety. Some people in receipt of social care often have additional needs and it is important that nurses and midwives recognise and respond to these appropriately within their professional capacity.

Office for Standards in Education, children's services and skills (OFSTED)

Regulator of quality

Ofsted regulate and inspect services that care for children. Providers of social care need to know about Ofsted if working with young people who are growing into adulthood (transition). It may be a requirement that you register with both Ofsted and CQC for services depending upon the age of the young people you work with.

Organisations that represent various parts of the social care sector

Advisory body

There are a range of organisations representing the sector such as care homes, homecare and specialist groups of providers. Many are fee based membership organisations and some act as consultative bodies to influence national policy and practice.

For purposes of this map, we have listed those who are members of the Think Local Act Personal partnership:

Public Health England

Strategic body

Public Health England (PHE) is responsible for making the public healthier. It encourages discussions, advises government and supports action by local government, the NHS and other people and organisations. Locally, the responsibilities for public health sit with councils and PHE informs on commissioning decisions that impact for health of the community. Public Health has an outcomes framework (PHOF).

Royal College of Nursing (RCN)

Advisory body

This independent body has a role in developing professional nursing standards and representing nurses. The RCN College sets frameworks and quality standards. All practising nurses must be registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Skills for Care (SfC)

Advisory body

Skills for Care encompassing the National Skills Academy for social care is the employer-led workforce development body that supports adult social care employers and other partners to develop the sector skills, knowledge and values required for quality delivery. It produces standards and resources to support key social care workforce development and advises strategic bodies on social care workforce issues.

Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE)

Advisory body

SCIE is an independent charity and improvement agency that produces practice guides, learning resources, research and evaluation, and delivers training and consultancy services. SCIE and Skills for Care are working together to develop a joint improvement offer to care providers. This will include an online resource - Care Improvement Works - which will signpost to relevant, freely available resources produced by both organisations, TLAP and NICE, mapped against CQC's inspection questions.

Think Local Act Personal (TLAP)

Advisory body

TLAP is a national partnership of more than 50 organisations committed to transforming health and care through personalisation and community-based support. The National Co-production Advisory Group (NCAG) - a group of people who use services, carers and family members - are central to TLAP's decision making. TLAP brings together strategic bodies directly with NCAG to influence health and social care policy at national, regional and local level and to give a consumer voice on quality of service or policy impact.